.40 S&W vs. .45 ACP

Hello everyone. I've been lurking here for about a year, and I'm finally close to owning my first firearm. I've put 500 rounds down range in the past couple of days with rentals at my local gun shop. I just have to ask this question to see if I'm crazy:

Does anyone else find .45 acp much easier on the hands that .40 s&w?

Maybe it was the gun I was shooting in .40(M&P), but it gave my hand a nice sting afterwards. I decided to rent a g21 next to see if I could handle a .45 acp, and I found it surprisingly easy to handle, especially comared to the .40.

The .40 is a higher pressure round. It is moving a good bit faster than most 45's ever will so the muzzle flip can get a little...snappy. I like a 40 when it comes to steel frame guns. The lighter poly fame pistols usually have a harder recoil. I have one Browning that's a poly pistol chambered in .40 though and I like it a lot. I go back and forth between 40 and 45 a lot and I guess I'm just more used to it. I really don't notice the recoil much anymore.

DJ'S answer is good. The 45ACP is more of a push recoil were as the 40 has a lot of snap to it. I'm an old school 45ACP kinda guy. I like the look and feel of the 1911. As you pointed out it is a plesure to shoot over the 40 and it makes nice big holes. The 40 is a nice round but it will wear you out quicker at the range. Nothing wrong with either round. Both are good.

They are both good, but I prefer .45. Choose the one which you prefer to shoot more and/or better. At handgun ammo speeds it all boils down to bullet placement first, and hole size next. Very fast speeds causing permanent tissue damage from more than merely the bullet are typically only achieved with dedicated rifle rounds at around 1700+ fps.

Thanks for the replies. It did feel a lot like a push with the.45. I think I'll just have to get a 9, 40 and 45!

Haahahahaa!! That's what I did. I do like the 1911 most and have six of them. But I see so many guns and so little money..errmm..I mean time..No..I mean money.. But I like shooting a few different types of pistols and am starting to amass a pretty good little collection. Too many? that's wife talk! Always room for one more

Telling ya, If your going to shoot a 40 make it an all steel gun. You'll appreciate the extra weight. My P16 is a dream to shoot, so is my 229 Sig. The Pro-40 I have while a really accurate weapon has a much snappier recoil.

Too me there is only a tad bit more kick than the .45. But not enough for me to start picking up a .45 cal gun. I have never had a sting after shooting any .40. I even took about 75 rounds through my cousin baby glock the 27.

Matter of fact the only pistol that ever made me think about kick was a .357 mag, and then it wasnt even that bad. Cant wait to try the desert eagle 50 cal.

I dont know if size has something to do with it. I found the baby glock and glock 23 to have more kick than my ruger p94. My friends H&K USP compact .45 seemed to have less kick than the glocks but more than my ruger.

I like the .40 and the snap doesn't bother me. I shoot a M&P 40 and a Sigma 40. The Sigma is a lot lighter and it has a whole lotta snap but you get use to it. I don't notice much difference between the 40 or the 45 M&P's that I shoot. I also shoot a .44 mag. BlackHawk so I guess recoil or snap is not at the top of my list.

I like both calibers myself. My weapon of choice is a .45 ACP, with that said, naturally my favorite gun is a 1911. But, the .40 has much more penetrating power, the .45 makes a bigger wound. All these factor in the loads you use. Some +P .45 loads are hitting harder and faster now. It all has alot to do with the gun you shoot.

A Glock 20 10mm will kick like a bitch! But most Glocks do have more kick than normal. An all steel gun will have less.

I like the Springfiel XD line-up because I felt less barrell hop and more push-back instead. Don't know why but the XD's shoot diffrent than any of my other guns.

I carry an XD 9mm because little recoil, easy fast follow-up shots abnd it's more compact and concealable. Personal defense situations or tactical situations I carry the .40 Taurus 24/7 full size. Because mainly it has better barricade or armor penetration.

Home defense, absolutely the .45 because it makes a big hole in the intruder.

Thank you I was curious and the only thing anyone ever told me was the . is bigger so it leaves a bigger hole and has more power. Then when I got to reading I heard that .40s exit the muzzle faster generating more power. All I know is I dont know if I could ever go with anything smaller than a .40 to carry on me. I dont like the idea of my wife carrying anything smaller than that on her. But I would rather her have something she can shoot accuerately enough to make the other person think twice if anything else.

Right now I am stuck between a glock 23, glock 27, M&P .40 full size, and a M&P .40 compact. I can only get one now but the local gun store doesnt have M&P's for rent. So I am debatting as I can only get one when my taxes come in. First one will be either compact. Gosh the choices.

I own a variety of calibers and my Kimber Ultra Raptor II, which is a pretty small gun has far less recoil than my Walther P99 .40. The .40 round is pretty snappy, and after shooting my usual 200 rounds, I need to give my hands a rest for a couple of days before shooting again.

Before jumping into the .40 because that is the smallest round you want to carry, try it compared to other rounds. Let you wife choose which she is most comfortable with. If she is not comfortable with a .40, she may never carry it and may not want to go to the range with you.